From: PAD
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

March 07, 2018

We would like to inform you that pursuant to Article 2(1) of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May
2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents, the right of access to documents is granted to a
citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having
its registered office in a Member State.

To confirm that you are invested in the right of access to the documents
requested, it is necessary to provide an ID card/passport/residence permit
in the EU/registration in an EU Member State (legal persons). You may
however refuse to provide such document containing personal data; in that
case, your request is not going to be processed.

After receiving the above mentioned documents, we will be able to start
processing your request and will get back to you within 15 working days.

Please be informed of the following:

- The person responsible for controlling the personal data (Data
controller) is the Head of Legal Affairs Unit

- The personal data is collected for the exclusive purpose of
assessing the nationality of the applicant

- The recipients of the personal data are the 3 Frontex Staff
members (Senior Legal Officer, Junior Lawyer and Legal Assistant) handling
requests for public access for documents

- The personal data collected (that is, the document sent to the
PAD mailbox) will be deleted as soon as the access for the request
document(s) is granted or refused. In Frontex, this procedure takes no
longer than 15 or 30 working days depending on the number/size of the
requested documents. During the processing of your data, you have a right
to access your data and rectify them if needed. You have a right to have
recourse to the European Data Protection Supervisor.

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

From: PAD
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

March 08, 2018

Dear Ms Gennari,

Thank you for the document.

Please be informed that your request needs further clarification since information on Themis operational plan appears in many documents available in Frontex.

In this context we would like to liaise with you to find a solution which would allow us to find and deliver the documents you are looking for in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Could you please narrow down your request or give us additional information that would enable us to identify specific documents.

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or public access to documents process, do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Transparency Office
Corporate Governance
Tel: +48 22 205 9500

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

From: Lucia Gennari

I'm interested, since I work as a lawyer on migration law and management, in understanding in a deeper way how this new operation will concretely work: i.e. which are the states involved, the composition of the European Border and Coast Guard teams, which kind of tasks will be assigned to the teams, their responsibilities, if it's possible the chain of command, where the teams will operate exactly, which resources, instruments and technical equipment are or will be deployed, detailed description of the modus operandi and aims of the operation,

From: PAD
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

March 12, 2018

Dear Ms Gennari,

Thank you for the clarification.

As your request falls under the regime of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, we will now forward your email to the responsible Unit and get back to you with an answer within 15 working days.

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or public access to documents process, do not hesitate to contact us.

From: Lucia Gennari

Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Operational plan for operation Themis'.

I believe that the motivation provided concerning the possibility to apply to my request art. 4(1)a Reg. 1049/2001 has to be considered insufficient.

The mere reference to the fact that the Themis operation is "ongoing" can't justify by itself a rejection of the refusal without any further and deeper explanation also regarding the different elements of the FOIA request ( which are the states involved, the composition of the European Border and Coast Guard teams, which kind of tasks will be assigned to the teams, their responsibilities, if it's possible the chain of command, where the teams will operate exactly, which resources, instruments and technical equipment are or will be deployed, detailed description of the modus operandi and aims of the operation).

The published informations indicated in Frontex reply are extremely generic and can't fulfill the purpose of Reg. 1049/01 which, in whereas n. 2 underlines that "Openness enables citizens to participate more closely in the decision-making process and guarantees that the administration enjoys greater legitimacy and is more effective and more accountable to the citizen in a democratic system. Openness contributes to strengthening the principles of democracy and respect for fundamental rights as laid down in Article 6 of the EUTreaty and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union".
Furthermore whereas n. 7 prescribes that "the right of access also applies to documents relating to the common foreign and security policy and to police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Each institution should respect its security rules". This last sentence can't for sure lead to the annihilation of the previous one. Neither the reference to art. 4(1)a can determine a total rejection of the FOIA request.
In the present case a short video and a few generic lines on Frontex website cannot satisfy the rights of Eu citizens descending from Reg. 1049/2001 regarding the Agency's activities.

From: PAD
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

April 10, 2018

Dear Ms Gennari,

As your application for a confirmatory application falls under the regime of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, the Director of Corporate Governance will reappraise your application and get back to you with an answer within 15 working days. Please note that Frontex is closed on 1 and 3 May 2018.

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or public access to documents process, do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Transparency Office
Corporate Governance
Tel: +48 22 205 9500

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.